With the progress of age many people suffer from a common discomfort of joint pain of varying degrees irrespective of the gender. This condition starts showing its symptoms generally after the age of 45 reaching to the peak at 75. These pains can be short lived or can last for hours and days depending upon the cause and the seriousness.

Arthritis is the common term applied to the joint pains, whereas other pains arising from spondylitis, sprain or dislocation of joints can also give rise to this problem at any age. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most serious form of joint pain that can be life threatening at times.

These are commonly observed in shoulder, knee and hip joints. Other joints like elbow, wrists, ankles and heels may also be affected due to some other reasons.

Symptoms

Symptoms may vary depending upon the cause. Commonly observed symptoms are -

1. Swelling and inflammation of the joints followed by moderate to severe pain.
2. Stiffness of the joints.
3. Discomfort in free movements.

Causes

A number of causes are responsible for this problem, which can be debilitating for a number of people.

1. With aging there is wear and tear of the cartilages and the bones along with the drying up of the synovial fluid between the joints leading to osteoarthritis. This condition is mainly observed in larger joints as in knees, back and hips which very often is incapacitating.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease also causes joint pains that is debilitating and can endanger lives if neglected.
3. Gout, the most painful and common type of arthritis leads to this pain due to higher levels of uric acid in blood.
4. Bursitis or the inflammation of Bursa, the fluid filled sac that prevents friction between joints and tendons leads to this problem.
5. Tendonitis, physical injury, lack of mobility and obesity are other common reasons.
6. Diabetes is another factor.
7. Women suffer from this pain after the menopause due to low estrogen levels.
8. Obesity leads to pressure in the joints causing pains.
9. Pains can also result from the infection or septic arthritis at the joint.

Herbal Remedies

1. Most of the joint pains, which are short lived, can be treated by the administration of analgesics, hot and cold packs or pain relieving sprays.

2. The herb Devil' Claw has strong anti inflammatory properties that are widely used in treatments.

3. Massaging the affected area with eucalyptus oil, camphor and menthol reduces the pain and inflammation.

4. Joint pains due to arthritis can also be cured by changing the regular diet and adopting physical workouts.